Guitar Gear

Though I’ve been actively writing in the guitar gear space for well over a decade now, I’ve actually never been to NAMM. I get offered passes and interview opportunities galore, but I’ve never taken up the reps on their offers. It’s not that NAMM isn’t interesting to me; it is because it is a time when many manufacturers reveal their latest and greatest stuff.

But I have to admit it: I’m really not into going to conventions. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the anti-social type. Far from it. A large part of it is that I have very limited free time and the way I like to spend it is in much more quiet surroundings, like driving to my best friend’s place on near the Central Coast of California, hanging out on his six acres in a peaceful, bucolic setting, drinking fine wine (he’s a winemaker) and grilling steaks.

So I don’t really keep up with NAMM. I know it happens roughly around late January. But I know it’s coming because my inbox fills up with new product announcements, offers for interviews, requests for review and of course, convention passes. I read all the product announcements because I love to see what’s coming out.

For instance, this morning I got an announcement of the new Pigtronix Resotron pedal. This is TOTALLY COOL! It’s an envelope filter that gives you the sounds of 70’s-era synthesizers! Check this video out:

I’ve always wanted to provide some synthesizer effects via guitar, but most were fairly big units requiring a mini-DIN jack – In other words, the guitar has to have one as it acts as the controller. This pedal uses 1/4″ jacks, and the pedal follows the pitch of the guitar. Just plug in your guitar and go! Nice! So this is exciting, yes. But I didn’t need to go to NAMM to see this. I just found the demo on YouTube. 🙂

I think the other part of me not going to NAMM is that I’d be like a kid in a candy store, and when it comes to gear, historically, I’ve been a bit compulsive, and I could just see myself coming back from the show and dropping thousands of dollars into new gear. Been there, done that. After the honeymoon is over, I end up selling off swathes of gear. So it’s a bit of a self-control thing for me.

But despite my own reservations – and admittedly, weaknesses – about going to the convention, I love this time of year. And though the past few years have been a bit dry for me with writing, now that I’m back in the game, I’ve got the gear bug back. Luckily, I’m older and hopefully a bit wiser, so I do temper my GAS urges now with my available finances. And at least I can write about the things that I find interesting.

Rock on!